Flare block for railway crossings and the like



March 14, 1950 I A. R. SCHULZE 2,500,710

. FLARE BLOCK FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 9, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lwenior: den/0& '8 50/0125,

Patented Mar. 14, 1 950 2,50a'710 FLARE BLOCK i on nAiLWAY esossines AND THE LIKE Arthur B. Esc'hulze, lohnstown, Pa., assignor to Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application septa-seer 9, 1948, Serial 48,477

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to flare blocks used in railroad track crossings of the articulated design and more particularly to a flare block which is automatically adjustable.

In the conventional articulated railroad track crossing assembly, a solid flare block is used be tween the running rail and the outside arm to maintain a tight connection between the running rail and the main body casting. The flare block is held in position by horizontal bolts which pass through the inner and outer crossing arms, the running rail, and the flare block. The running railis held snugly in place by pullingup the horizontal bolts tight enough to deflect the crossing arms. In usage, however, the vibrations and shocks occasioned by passing trains cause wear on the surfaces of the crossing arms, the rail web, and the lateral surfaces of the flare block. This surface. wear'ca-uses the running rail and the flare block. to become loose in a relatively short time. When such looseness once develops, additional wear is accelerated.

The solid flare block, above described, is a single piece casting having one straight side which fits the vertical contour of a T-railand a horizontally tapered face on the opposite side which fits against the outer arm of the main body casting. The wedge effect of the flare block and the pulling up of the horizontal bolts, which pass through moderately loose holes in the flare block, permit only initial tight assembly. Various expe'dients have been tried in an effort to eliminate the loosen'ess caused by wear, such as inserting shims between the flare block and the adjacent crossing arm, but all such expedients have failed to bring about the desired result.

For safe operating conditions, it is essential that the running rail assembly into the main orossing'body casting be maintained continuously tight. Also, in ordert'o reduce wear and consequent maintenance attention, it is desirable that positive means be provided for taking up or eliminating the looseness developed during operation. This provision should preferably be automatic in its action.

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to provide a flare block, for use in railroad crossings of the articulated design, which is automatically self-tightening, inexpensive to manufacture, and rugged in construction.

This and other objects will become more apparent after referring to 'th following specification. and attached drawings, in which:

Figure. 1' is a. plan. vial; of." a. crossing showing the flare block of my invention installed;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of 'one'of the two crossing arms shown in Figure "1;

Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line IVIV of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a cross section on the line V -V of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to' the drawings, reference numeral '2 indicates one of the four corners of a cast railroad rail crossing of the,

articulated type having an inner crossing arm extension 3 and an outer crossing arm' extension ii. A. running rail 8 is fitted adjacent the outer crossing. arm extension 6 in the space between the extensions. Slidably fitted between running rail 3 and the inside crossing arm extension 4 is a wedge-shaped flare block It.

One side l2 of flar block H] is adjacent to crossing arm extension 4 and is tapered and shaped to fit the inner contour of crossing arm extension 4. The opposite side M of the flare block adjacent the running rail 8 is parallel to "and shaped to fit the inner contour of the web'of rail 8, thus providing a wedge fit.

A cored-opening or elongated recess 26 i'sprdvided in the top surface of the flare bloclr'in which i's-di'sposed a cast hollow block 18. The end wall 2c of recess it is shaped with a center projection 22 protruding therefrom in the direction of the block it providing a shoulder 2i, Intermediate block i8 and end wall Elli-s disposed a helical compression spring 24 which surrounds projection 22 andbears against theblock 58' on one end andagainstshoulder 21- on the other.

Elongated bolt holes 26 are provided through the sides oi} flare block Ill. The crossing arm extensions 4- and't, the running rail 8-, and the flare block Ware maintained in side-by-side relationship' by means of horizontal bolts 32 a-nd34. Bolts 32- and 3% pass through the elongated bolt holes 26 to provide a lost motion mounting for the flare blockit]: The sides of thelelocls :8 are provided with bolt holes 36. The projection 2211s provided with a loolt hole 38 which corresponds with a matching: boltho'le 39in block l8 through which extends an assembly lo'olt lll'havin'g a nut t2 threaded on its shaft. Boltdilmay serve-to hold block it closeto projection 22 s'othat spring ZKiS compressed. A longitudinal groovewt is provided on: the-top surface of flar'e bloclr Hl'to accommodate the flange ofa' wheel riding on the running rail 8 and-properly" guide-the same;

In" operationgwthe flare hloclt is assembledin the shop before shipmentinte cthe field for installation. Spring 24 is placed around projection 22 and the block i8 is positioned in the cored opening l6 adjacent the spring. Bolt 40 is then inserted through bolt holes 39 and 38 and nut 42 threaded thereon. Bolt 40 is pulled up so that block l8 lies closely adjacent to projection 22 and spring 24 is compressed between block l8 and inner wall 20, as best shown in Figures 3 and 4. In order to facilitate the insertion of bolt 40, an opening 46 is provided in the wall of block I8 opposite bolt hole 39. The compressed flare block assembly is then delivered to the field for installation. To install in the crossing in the field after the running rail 8 is placed, the compressed flare block Ill is pushed into position between the running rail and the inner crossing arm extension 4 with its bolt holes 26 in alignment with the corresponding bolt hole in the crossing arm extensions and running rail. Bolt 34 is then put in place through the crossing arm extensions 4 and 6, the rail 8, and the flare block H) in normal manner and the bolt 42 is fullyunscrewed with a wrench suitable for that purpose. The spring 24 then acts to push the tapered flare block forward into a snug wedging position. This is accomplished by spring 24 forcing block l8 against the bolt 34 and then using the block as a fulcrum point the spring 24 forces the flare block forward snugly into position between the running rail 8 and outer crossing arm extension 6. The holding bolts 32 are then tightened in the normal manner to fix the running rail and flare block in side-by-side position between the crossing arm extensions. The elongated bolt holes 26 and the end clearance 48, as shown in Figure 3,

' enable the flare block to be moved longitudinally by the spring to take up any looseness developed in the assembly. Thus, the flare block of my invention functions automatically to take up any looseness in the assembly at the instant it occurs, eliminating the need for manual adjustment during the lifetime of the crossing.

While a crossing of the articulated type is shown and described, the automatic positioning design may be equally well applied to solid cast, insert or built-up types, as well as other track applications.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a railroad rail crossing having two crossing arm extensions with a space therebetween on each crossing arm, and a running rail in said space adjacent one of said crossing arm extensions, the improvement consisting of a flare block having a recess in its top surface disposed intermediate said other crossing arm extension and said running rail, said crossing arm extensions,

running rail and flare block being bolted together, a hollow block disposed in the recess of said flare block, said hollow block being adapted to bear against one of said holding bolts, and resilient means in said recess for urging said flare block inwardly between said running rail and said crossing arm extensions.

2. In a railroad rail crossing having two crossing arm extensions with a space therebetween on each crossing arm, and a running rail in said said running rail, said crossing arm extensions, running rail and flare block being bolted together, a hollow block disposed in the recess of said flare block, said hollow block being adapted to bear against one of said holding bolts, and resilient means in said recess bearing against said hollow block on one end and against the forward wall of said recess on the other end for urging said flare block inwardly between said running rail and said crossing arm extensions.

3. In a railroad rail crossing having two crossing arm extensions with a space therebetween on each crossing arm, and a running rail in said space, the improvement consisting of a flare block having a recess in its top surface slidingly fitted intermediate said running rail and one of said crossing arm extensions, said crossing arm extensions, running rail and flare block being bolted together by means of a plurality of holding bolts extending transversely therethrough, a hollow block disposed in said recess, one of said holding bolts extending transversely through said recess and through said hollow block contained therein, said latter named holding bolt being adapted to provide an abutment for said hollow block, the remainder of said holding bolts extending transversely through elongated bolt holes in said flare block intermediate said recess and the forward end of said flare block to provide a lost motion mounting for said flare block, resilient means in said recess bearing against said hollow block on one end and against the forward wall of said recess on the other end for urging said flare block inwardly between said running rail and said crossing arm extensions.

4. In a railroad rail crossing having two crossing arm extensions with a space therebetween on each crossing arm, and a running rail in said space adjacent one of said crossing arm extensions, the improvement consisting of a flare block having a recess in its top surface slidingly fitted intermediate said running rail and said other crossing arm extension, said flare block having a flange groove in its top surface adjacent said running rail, said running rail and said flare block being held together intermediate said crossing arm extensions by means of a plurality of holding bolts extending transversely there through, a hollow block disposed in said recess, one of said holding bolts extending transversely through said recess and through said hollow block contained therein, said latter named holding bolt being adapted to provide an abutment for said hollow block, the remainder of said holding bolts extending transversely through elongated bo-lt holes in said flare block intermediate said recess and the forward end of said flare block to provide a lost motion mounting for said flare block, a helical compression spring disposed in said recess bearing against said hollow block on one end and against the forward wall of said recess on the other end for urging said flare block inwardly between said running rail and said crossing arm extensions.

ARTHUR R. SCHU'LZE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,227,853 Stull May 29, 1917 1,803,420 Balkwill May 5, 1931 

